COVE

  The Rubáiyát of Bridge was written by Carolyn Wells, with illustrations drawn by May Wilson Preston, and published in April 1909 by Harper & Brother’s publishing company. All of these people/organizations come from different walks of life, but came together to craft a Rubáiyát of poems that deal with the game of bridge and playing the game together. 

 According to bookshop.org, Wells was an American poet, librarian, and writer in the mystery genre. She was born in Rahway, New Jersey in 1862, and originally started her career as a children’s author. One of her most famous series that she wrote for children is the Patty Fairfield series, which was originally published in 1901. The book series follows the life of a young girl named Patty, and follows her throughout her life. Some books from the Patty Fairfield series include, “Patty in the City” (1905), “Patty’s Motor Car” (1911), and “Patty’s Romance” (1915). Eventually after writing children's books, Wells switched her focus to writing about novels in the mystery genre, writing novels such as “The Clue” (1909), “The Maxwell Mystery” (1913),  and “The Furthest Fury” (1924). After writing and publishing around 170 books, Wells passed away in 1942. 

  May Wislon Preston was an American illustrator, mostly for newspapers and magazines. According to her Wikipedia page, Preston was considered to be “one of the top women illustrators between 1900 and 1939. She initially got her start up on her illustrating career on magazines such as “Harper’s Bazaar” and “The Saturday Evening Post”, but moved her way into the illustration of books path. Preston’s illustration style is  a unique one, as shown in figure one. The drawings in this Rubáiyát feature quick strokes and wisps, and while very simple, are very descriptive on what the image is trying to say. For example, in figure one, the image is of a woman reading a book, and getting her hand of bridge ready at the same time.  She is at a salon of some sort, and this really tells the story of how people used to take the game of bridge so seriously back in the 1900s. Preston passed away in 1949. 

  According to their Wikipedia page, James and John Harper originally got their start in publishing in 1817, originally opening the publishing business, “J. & J. Harper”. The company changed its name to “Harper & Brothers) in 1833. James and John published a series of magazines from their company, such as “Harper’s New Monthly Magazine” (1850), “Harper’s Weekly” (1857), and “Harper’s Bazar” (1867). On top of publishing their magazines, Harper & Brothers assisted with publishing of smaller books, such as   The Rubáiyát of Bridge by Carolyn Wells. 

  How do all of these people tie in together to create The Rubáiyát of Bridge? In short, all of these people came together to write, illustrate, and publish the stories of how the card game of bridge was a cultural phenomenon in the 1900s, and how it became such a staple in western culture.